How good is Duke football?

On the one hand, the Blue Devils were on the verge of two top-25 wins in the last two weeks. If not for missed field goals against SMU, Duke would have won the game. And the Blue Devils were two points ahead of the No. 5 team in the country at one point. This is a team that started 5-0 and leads the nation in tackles for loss. Duke has shown repeatedly that it can beat anyone.

But at the same time, the Blue Devils were lucky. They beat Northwestern in double overtime, committed three turnovers in three snaps against Florida State and narrowly fell to North Carolina. The offense was anemic at worst and serviceable at best. While the defense is capable of making big plays, it also has a tendency to give up long distances.

The truth lies somewhere in the middle. Duke isn't a bad team, but it's not a great team either; There are holes on each side of the ball for the Blue Devils. Saturday's loss to Miami brought those issues to the surface and showed that while Duke has played at its limit all season, it is far from ready to compete with a top team for four quarters.

“This is a great lesson for my guys,” head coach Manny Diaz said after the game. “Against really good football teams you have to perform at your best for 60 minutes, especially in their stadium.”

The first and most criticized flaw the Blue Devils displayed on Saturday is their offense, or lack thereof. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Maalik Murphy has shown he has the power to make every throw on the field, but his decision-making is lagging. Murphy often struggled against the Hurricanes when his first read wasn't there.

On touchdown drives, he was able to hit open receivers with ease and place the ball downfield when necessary. But when the going got tough in the fourth and Miami tightened its defense, Murphy tried to force balls into locked windows.

His second interception of the game – mirroring the first – came on an ill-advised throw downfield by Jordan Moore. Moore, who was in double coverage, had little chance of even putting a finger on the ball. The senior wideout played defensive back on another play in the fourth quarter, breaking Murphy's third interception.

Even when Ward was in the pocket, Duke's tendency to apply pressure put the defense in bad situations. Senior wideout Xavier Restrepo — who became Miami's all-time leading receiver on Saturday and scored three touchdowns to boot — constantly beat his man in coverage. Each time, Ward beat him with great speed.

When you play against an offense as dangerous as the Hurricanes, plays like this are inevitable. However, the Blue Devils make them even more frequent by giving Ward one-on-one opportunities. Part of Diaz's defensive philosophy is about forcing the opponent to make poor decisions.

Such bad decisions rarely happen against a quarterback like Ward. Instead, he led his team to 53 points, by far the most Duke had allowed to date.

“We were atypical. You have to give them credit in terms of their players and their performance,” Diaz said. “But it will be a difficult task tomorrow given the mistakes we have made and which, it must be acknowledged, they are capitalizing on.”

The Blue Devils should take away from Saturday's game that they can compete with a team of Miami's caliber, but they also left Hard Rock Stadium with a plethora of things to work on. Their style of play often leaves little room for error, especially when the competition increases.

The true strength of Duke football remains to be seen. Diaz has built a strong culture and you can't blame the Blue Devils for a lack of effort. But if Duke hopes to end the season better than it started, it will have to adapt.